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[entremet]

A large segment of white middle-aged Americans has suffered a startling rise in its death rate since 1999, according to a review of statistics published Monday that shows a sharp reversal in decades of progress toward longer lives.

The mortality rate for white men and women ages 45-54 with less than a college education increased markedly between 1999 and 2013, most likely because of problems with legal and illegal drugs, alcohol and suicide, the researchers concluded. Before then, death rates for that group dropped steadily, and at a faster pace.

An increase in the mortality rate for any large demographic group in an advanced nation has been virtually unheard of in recent decades, with the exception of Russian men after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The rising death rate was accompanied by an increase in the rate of illness, the authors wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

What are the causes?

“Drugs and alcohol, and suicide . . . are clearly the proximate cause,” said Angus Deaton, the 2015 Nobel laureate in economics, who co-authored the paper with his wife, Anne Case. Both are economics professors at Princeton University.

“Half a million people are dead who should not be dead,” he added. “About 40 times the Ebola stats. You’re getting up there with HIV-AIDS.”

But Monday’s bleak findings could have far-reaching implications as the surviving members of this sizable segment of the population continue toward retirement and eligibility for Medicare, according to experts. A sicker population that has been less able to prepare for the costs associated with old age will place an increasing burden on society and federal programs, they said.

“This is the first indicator that the plane has crashed,” said Jonathan Skinner, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College, who reviewed the study and co-authored a commentary that appears with it. “I don’t know what’s going on, but the plane has definitely crashed.

I personally don't think society as is sustainable. Economic insecurity is abound. Automation is killing more jobs. The gap between rich and poor continues to rise. Mental health for many is getting worse and worse. Yet we spend billions on an out of date military, while our own citizens suffer.

The proportion of people who said they were in “serious psychological distress” also rose significantly, the research shows.

Deaton, awarded the Nobel prize for his work on individual consumption choices, has long studied measures of well-being, health and pain. He and Case authored a paper in June that found reports of physical pain “are strongly predictive of suicide in many contexts” and that reports of pain are increasing among middle-aged Americans.

Their findings have been corroborated by other research. A report from the National Heroin Task Force established by the Justice Department puts the number of overdose deaths from legal and illegal drugs at 110 every day. The heroin death toll has quadrupled in the decade that ended in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...a63098-8172-11e5-8ba6-cec48b74b2a7_story.html

 

[Quazar]

I've only brimmed post, but why the singling of whites specifically? Is this because others aren't showing as major increase as well?

 

[RoH]

I've only brimmed post, but why the singling of whites specifically? Is this because others aren't showing as major increase as well?

Correct

 

[entremet]

I've only brimmed post, but why the singling of whites specifically? Is this because others aren't showing as major increase as well?

Aberration in the trends.

An increase in the mortality rate for any large demographic group in an advanced nation has been virtually unheard of in recent decades, with the exception of Russian men after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

 

[JonathanNemo]

Sounds about right. A fair number of my family members died of self-inflicted abuses just short of 50 in that time frame.

I'd like to know of the more widespread cause. At the time, it seemed like every relative with a severe drug problem died from it.

 

[Vic]

I've only brimmed post, but why the singling of whites specifically? Is this because others aren't showing as major increase as well?

Maybe because that group was the specific subject of that study.

 

[entremet]

Maybe because that group was the specific subject of that study.

Not quite. It's right in the OP lol.

An increase in the mortality rate for any large demographic group in an advanced nation has been virtually unheard of in recent decades, with the exception of Russian men after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Looks like it stood out in the demographic data.

 

[Shamrock7r]

That's really weird. I would assume it would have to be some sort of change in societal norms? Or is it just chalked up to a random aberration that's not really a long term trend?

 

[Azih]

Feels like no good jobs leads to depression leads to drug abuse and unhealthy living leads to an early grave.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

I've only brimmed post, but why the singling of whites specifically? Is this because others aren't showing as major increase as well?

The article states:

Death rates for other developed nations examined by the two researchers, as well as rates for U.S. blacks and Hispanics, continued their steady decline of recent decades. Whites in other age groups between 30 and 64, and more educated whites also had lower death rates.

 

[Vic]

Not quite. It's right in the OP lol.

To be honest I barely glanced at the OP. I was just guessing.

 

[entremet]

To be honest I barely glanced at the OP. I was just guessing.

No worries. I don't mind, which is why I replied. It is a meaty OP.

 

[SolarPowered]

The age and demographics make me wonder about their familial social status growing up. It would be a hell of a thing to be growing up in the 60s/70s with lots of job opportunities and hitting rock bottom after the 00s. Anyone would feel depressed in such a scenario. I bet the current middle class would literally implode if it had to face the same social and job related pressure minorities and the lower classes have to tackle every single day.

Automation, weak social safety nets and shitty drug policies are going to kill a lot more people.

 

[entremet]

Alcohol and heroin seem to be prime killers here too.

In January, the CDC reported that an average of six people die every day because of alcohol poisoning and that 76 percent are ages 35 to 64. Three-quarters are men.

A study in the journal JAMA Psychiatry last year reported that 90 percent of the people who tried heroin for the first time in the last decade were white. Three-quarters said they were introduced to heroin through the use of prescription drugs.

 

[bennywhatever]

Man, that uptick in "Poisoning" is scary. I wonder if that's more from illegal drugs or just overdosing on legal drugs.

Alcohol and heroin seem to be prime killers here too.

Ahhh, so a little bit of both.

 

[entremet]

Man, that uptick in "Poisoning" is scary. I wonder if that's more from illegal drugs or just overdosing on legal drugs.



Ahhh, so a little bit of both.

Crazy how deadly alcohol is under abuse, yet cannabis is still this huge boogey man.

 

[wenis]

Maybe there will be better funded programs for substance and mental health issues now.

 

[dave is ok]

Let's hope this thread goes better than the NY Times heroin epidemic one

 

[entremet]

Maybe there will be better funded programs for substance and mental health issues now.

Many states have programs. It's the efficacy of them.

Plus if you're under economic distress, it's much easier to use substances to numb yourself from the harsh realities.